Revealing all users of 'playbook'

At a press conference last year, two days after he was allegedly set up, Costa Mesa Councilman (now Mayor) Jim Righeimer addresses accusations of drunk driving as his wife, Lene, listens. The Righeimers and Councilman Steve Mensigner filed suit over the incident and other alleged intimidation. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

I knew Costa Mesa Jim Righeimer might sue over the bogus DUI test. But when I heard last spring that it was John Manly’s law firm that would represent him, my hopes for a just result rose a few degrees.

Not only might the Righeimer family and co-plaintiff Steve Mensinger get some relief, but based on Manly’s track record, there would be a good chance that a whole scuzzy bunch of bad actors would be very publicly exposed. This is because Manly’s firm, Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, has not only done well for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests (more than $1 billion in settlements), but it forced the church to release mountains of documents.

My hope is that if the defendant law firm, Lackie Dammeier, was employing its notorious playbook of dirty tricks not only on behalf of Costa Mesa’s police union, as alleged, but also on behalf of some of the 120 police unions it has represented (including 19 in Orange County), that that information will come out as well.

The playbook advised subjecting elected officials and city managers to public ridicule and political intimidation. The playbook said a “police association should be like a quiet giant in the position of, ‘Do as I ask and don’t piss me off.’” Another gem: “Focus on a city manager, councilperson, mayor or police chief and keep the pressure up until that person assures you his loyalty and then move on to the next victim.”

Through emails, memos and other internal documents we might learn with great specificity which police associations, if any, embraced the playbook.

In the priest cases, there were hundreds of individual victims, and the Catholic Church settled before discovery of evidence of each incident of abuse could be concluded. Under most settlements, that information would never be made public. But the Manly plaintiffs insisted it not be buried. The ongoing release of church documents are still exposing the lengths to which church officials went to cover up abuse.

How might disclosure play out in the suit the Righeimers and Mensinger filed Tuesday against Lackie Dammeier, a private investigator and the Costa Mesa police officers union?

First, like the priest-abuse plaintiffs, the Costa Mesa plaintiffs want to see a public disclosure in their result. Jim Righeimer assured me that is a large part of his motivation.

“There’s no doubt the reason we picked the firm was because it specializes in litigation where the defendants have abused their power and authority,” he told me. “(Manly’s firm) won’t quit until it gets to the bottom of what is happening; until the whole story is out.”

The situation is different from the church cases because there’s only one set of plaintiffs and the activities alleged appear at first blush to involve only one city’s police union. Nonetheless, the areas open to discovery of evidence may prove to be fairly wide. For one thing, among the causes of action against Lackie Dammeier is unfair business practices.

Lackie Dammeier will contend that the P.I. who followed Righeimer and reported the bogus DUI was acting without the firm’s authority and that such tactics aren’t part of its custom and practice. Such a defense might allow vast discovery of the firm’s inner workings.

It’s also possible the Costa Mesa suit will start Manly’s phone ringing with potential plaintiffs from other cities who believe they have been intimidated by police unions using the “playbook” and will join the Righeimer-Mensinger suit.

If this case follows the Manly playbook, we may hear a lot more about those “quiet giants.”

Mickadeit writes Mon.-Fri. Contact him at 714-796-4994 or fmickadeit@ocregister.com

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.